JPS636436B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a container washing device, and is intended to improve the operating rate.

``Prior Art'' A container washing device usually includes a conveyor that conveys a holder that accommodates containers, and a container supply mechanism that supplies the containers into the holder, and the container cleaning device is equipped with a conveyor that conveys a holder that accommodates containers, and a container supply mechanism that supplies the containers into the holder. The containers are sequentially fed into the holder by the container feeding mechanism.

This type of washing equipment includes one in which multiple container supply mechanisms are provided for one transport conveyor, and one in which two container washing equipment are essentially installed side by side, with each device being operated independently from the other. There are also known devices in which it is activated.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' However, in conventional washing devices, the conveyor and the container supply mechanism are driven in synchronization with each other, and the problem is that the conveyor and the container supply mechanism are driven integrally in synchronization with each other. If there is a shortage of containers, if an overturned container, a damaged container, a different type of container, a collection container with a crown, etc. is detected or discovered, or if the safety device of the container supply mechanism is activated, the entire cleaning device will be stopped. I was doing it.

However, stopping the container washing device is not desirable because it not only reduces the operating rate of the container washing device itself, but also reduces the operating rate of downstream filling devices, capping devices, and the like. It should be noted that it is possible to improve such drawbacks in cases where two container washing devices are substantially installed side by side and each device is configured to operate independently of each other. , the configuration is complicated and expensive.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention enables the operation of the transport conveyor and the container supply mechanism to be controlled separately,
The above holder is operated twice for one operation of the above container supply mechanism.
Convey at least one pitch in the conveying direction.
When an empty book holder is passed, a container is supplied to the next holder.

``Function'' According to this configuration, the conveyor can continue to operate even if the container supply mechanism stops, so it is possible to improve the operating rate with a simpler and cheaper configuration compared to the conventional one. can be achieved.

"Example" The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated example.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a main body of the container washing device, 2 is a container supply mechanism provided on one side of this main body 1, and containers 4 are conveyed in multiple rows at random from a container supply conveyor 3. is the above container supply mechanism 2
As a result, they are supplied in a horizontal line into a holder (not shown) of a conveyor 5 provided in the main body 1.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the container supply mechanism 2 includes two first and second container supply mechanisms 2A,
2B, and as will be understood from the following description, the operation of each container supply mechanism 2A, 2B and conveyor 5 can be controlled independently of each other. Each of the above container supply mechanisms 2A, 2B
comprises a container supply conveyor 6 common to both container supply mechanisms 2A, 2B, and a guide member 7 disposed on this container supply conveyor 6 to align and guide random containers 4 into multiple rows. ing.

Containers conveyed in a plurality of rows at random by the container supply conveyor 3 are guided by guide members 8 provided on both sides and at the tip of the container supply conveyor 3, and from the tip side to the container supply mechanism 2. The containers are then extruded onto the container supply conveyor 6. When the downstream side of the container supply conveyor 3, that is, the right side in the traveling direction of the container supply conveyor 6, is filled with a large number of containers, the container supply conveyor 6 gradually fills with a large number of containers.
The left side of the direction of travel is now filled with containers,
Eventually, the downstream part of the container supply conveyor 3 will also be filled with containers. This container supply conveyor 3 has a detector 9 located upstream from the connection between both container supply conveyors 3 and 6 to detect the full state of the containers.
As will be described in detail later, the left container supply mechanism 2B is configured to stop operating when the fullness of the container becomes below this detector 9.

Each of the container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B is provided at the tip of each of the guide members 7 and guides both sides of each container 4. 4
by pressing the bottom of each container 4 into its guide member 10.
It is provided with a pick-up cam 11 that moves the container 4 along the pick-up cam 11, and a push cam 12 that pushes the container 4 transferred by the pick-up cam 11 into the holder (not shown).

The pick-up shafts 13A and 13B provided with the pick-up cam 11 are interlocked with the pick-up shafts 15A and 15B provided with the push cam 12 so as to operate in synchronization with each other, and they are provided with safety features to prevent damage in the event of an abnormality. Devices 14A, 14B
and pneumatic or electromagnetic clutch 16A,
It is linked to a common drive shaft 17 via 16B. This drive shaft 17 is linked to the conveyor 5, and thereby each clutch 16A, 16
B is connected, each container supply mechanism 2
A. The container supply mechanism 2B is operated in synchronization with the conveyor 5.

The clutches 16A and 16B are referred to as single-position clutches, and can be engaged only at specific rotational angular positions, that is, only when synchronization is achieved. Therefore, in a normal operating state in which the clutches 16A and 16B are connected, each time the conveyor 5 conveys one pitch of a holder (not shown) in the conveyance direction, one operation of the container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B causes the holder to be removed. If the respective clutches 16A and 16B are disconnected in this state, the holders will be conveyed two or more times per operation of the container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B. It happens. And each of the above clutches 16A, 16B
When the above-mentioned single position clutch functions, the container feeding mechanisms 2A, 2B are synchronized with the holders of the conveyor 5 and restarted, and at least one empty holder is transferred to the next holder that has passed. Containers will now be fed smoothly.

Next, each of the container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B is provided with detectors 20A and 20B for detecting overturned containers and the like. As the detectors 20A and 20B, various conventionally known configurations can be used as they are, so a description of their specific configurations will be omitted. The signals from each of the detectors 20A and 20B are input to the control device 21, and the signals from the detector 9 and the safety devices 14A and 14B are also input to the control device 21.
1, and the control device 21 controls the engagement and disengagement of the clutches 16A and 16B based on each signal.

In the above configuration, when the container 4 is full to the extent that the detector 9 is filled, the container feeding mechanisms 2A and 2B operate together to feed the container 4 into a holder (not shown). Containers supplied into the holder are conveyed by a conveyor 5, and similarly to conventional cleaning devices, they are washed when passing through a dipping tank, a jet washing section, etc., and then transported to the outside by a container discharging mechanism (not shown). be done.

When the supply amount of the container 4 decreases and the amount of the filled container becomes smaller than that of the detector 9, the control device 21 receiving the detection signal shuts off the clutch 16B on the one container supply mechanism 2B side. The operation of the container supply mechanism 2B is stopped. Thereby, when the supply amount of the container 4 is small, only the other container supply mechanism 2A is operated. In addition, in order to avoid small interruptions in the operation of the container supply mechanism 2B, when the operation of the container supply mechanism 2B is stopped, even if the detector 9 is filled with the container 4, the operation will continue until the required time elapses. It is possible to prevent the container supply mechanism 2B from restarting operation.

Next, when the detectors 20A and 20B detect an overturned container or the like while both container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B are in operation, for example, when the presence of the container cannot be detected due to the overturned container, Upon receiving a signal from the detector 20A or 20B that has detected this, the control device 21 stops the operation of the container supply mechanism 2A or 2B on the side that detected this. In conventional devices, when an overturned container or the like is detected, the entire device is stopped, but in this embodiment, half of the device continues to operate.

When the number of filled containers 4 is small and only one container supply mechanism 2A is operating, when the detector 20A detects an overturned container, etc., the control device 21 controls the operation of the container supply mechanism 2A. to stop. Simultaneously with this, or when the operation of the container supply mechanism 2A is not restarted within a certain period of time, the operation of the other container supply mechanism 2B is automatically started.

In a state where only one container supply mechanism 2A is operating, if the supply amount of containers 4 further decreases or stops, the detector 20A detects that there is no container, so that container supply mechanism 2A operations will also be suspended. If the detector 20A is of a configuration that cannot detect the absence of a container, as shown in FIG. 2, a dedicated detector 22A for detecting the absence of a container,
22B may be provided.

Furthermore, even when only one container supply mechanism 2A or 2B is in operation, the conveyor 5
will operate in the same way as when both container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B are in operation, but in such a case, in order to avoid wasteful consumption of cleaning liquid especially in the jet cleaning section, one of the containers When the supply mechanism 2A or 2B is stopped and the container finally supplied into the holder passes through its spray cleaning section, the control device 21 may be configured to stop the spray on the side of the container supply mechanism 2A or 2B. can.

However, in the above embodiment, the first and second container supply mechanisms 2A and 2B are provided so that the operation of each of them can be independently controlled with respect to the transport conveyor 5.
More simply, the first and second container supply mechanisms 2A,
2B may be integrated, that is, a single container supply mechanism may be provided and the operation of this mechanism may be controlled independently of the conveyor 5. In this case, when an overturned container or the like is detected, the single container feeding mechanism can be stopped while the transport conveyor 5 continues to operate. In particular, when there is a shortage of containers 4, the transport conveyor By intermittently operating the container supply mechanism while continuing the operation of 4, either one of the container supply mechanisms 2A or 2 in the above embodiment
It is clear that substantially the same effect can be obtained by stopping B.

In addition, in the above embodiment, each container supply mechanism 2A, 2
Although B are arranged on the same plane, it goes without saying that they may be arranged vertically shifted.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that the operating rate can be improved with a simpler configuration than in the past. In particular, when the container supply mechanism is composed of a plurality of container supply mechanisms, and each container supply mechanism can be controlled separately, more detailed operation control becomes possible, which further improves the operating rate. The effect of this is that it is possible to achieve the desired results.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1. 2A, 2B...Container supply mechanism, 3, 6...Container supply conveyor, 4...Container, 5...Transportation conveyor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A conveyor that conveys a holder that accommodates a container, and a container supply mechanism that supplies the container into the holder, and each time the conveyor conveys one pitch of the holder in the conveying direction, In the container washing device, in which containers are sequentially supplied into the holder by one operation of the container supply mechanism, the transport conveyor and the container supply mechanism can be controlled separately, and each operation of the container supply mechanism A container washing device characterized in that the holders are transported two pitches or more, and when at least one empty holder has passed in the transport direction, the container is supplied to the next holder. 2. Claim 1, wherein the container supply mechanism is composed of a plurality of container supply mechanisms, and each container supply mechanism can be operated and controlled separately.
Container cleaning equipment as described in section.